During our last Webinar, where we spoke about Nehemiah as a social leader, I realized that there's an essential expression in the Hebrew Bible - and actually in our lives - that can make us change our perspective and actions.

When I teach Biblical Hebrew, I always remind both mystudents online and my pupils in high school that there's a difference between Biblical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew. Some words and expressions may be written and pronounced the same way, but the meaning often isn’t the same. Today we will look at the one expression that neverlost its meaning, from Biblical times through to today. That expression is about when things are not going well. We will examine this expression in relation to leadership.

When Jethro saw that Moses was sitting all day long, presiding over all the legal cases of the Israelites, Jethro said:

"Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone"(Exodus 18:17-18)

Jethro understood that in order for Moses to be a real leader, he couldn’t do everything single thing for his people. A leader must guide his people, but he can’t forget about his wife, (which was, by the way, Miriam andAharon’s biggest criticism of Moses) nor can he judge every single legal caseand still have time to listen to the commandments of God. Jethro understood that Moses would simply burn out, like any human being. Moses deeply respected his father in law and was attentive as a leader, so he was happy to make some changes in his leadership. When an outsider came and shared with Moses some different views about his leadership, Moses understood that he needed to take a step back and reassess. For that reason, the changes Moses made in his leadership were successful.

The next time the expression about “not doing good” appears in the Bible was when David spoke with Abner about King Saul, David’s leader and his father in law, as written:

"This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives , all of you must surely die, because you did not guard your lord, the Lord’s anointed. And now, see where the king’s spear is and the jug of water that was at his head.”(1 Samuel 26:16)

Here the expression relates to the leader's protection. Since days of old and through to today, leaders have always been protected by guards. Since King Saul wasn't protected at night, David could have easily killed him. The only reason that David didn't do it, despite the fact that his people tried to convince him to do so, is because killing the King would have been another thing that is “not good”, to say the least.

The final time that this beautiful expression appears in the Bible was during the time of Nehemiah, who was appointed to be the governor of the Jewish people in Judah. Nehemiah as a social leader noticed that there was great poverty amongst his people, as we discussed in the last Webinar. He couldn't bear the thought that people needed to sell their children in order to eat. For that reason he said:

Again I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? And likewise I, my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let us leave off this usury"(Nehemiah 5:9-10)

A great thing about being a leader is having the opportunity to enact change, to influence the lives of others, to make important decisions about the destiny of a nation. One must remember, however, is that nobody is perfect - a leader can do wrong, can make mistakes, and can’t necessarily fix and change every situation, but a real leader should at least try to understand what is good and what isn’t. This, for me, is the definition of a great leader. Nehemiah was one of the greatest leaders in the history of the Jewish people, thanks to his understanding that it's time to write off the debts of the nation when your people can’t even afford to eat. Being a good leader means making sacrifices for your people, even if the decision is a difficult one.

Main phrases of the post + transcription + translation

English

Transliteration

Hebrew

The thing

haddāvār

הַדָּבָר

Not

Lō'

לֹא

Good

tôv

טוֹב

Which

'ăšer

אֲשֶׁר

You (mpl)

'attem

אַתֶּם

Leader

manhîg

מַנְהִיג

Debt

chôv

חוֹב

Our Online Store

The Safra Bible-
The Complete "Torah" Narrated in HEBREW

The CD series consists of the first five books of the Bible narrated

in Hebrew by Omer Frenkel, one of Israel’s leading narrators.This series

is meant to serve and help people to connect, and discover the base

of their Heritage, by listening to the Bible in its original language.

" I have found that your newsletters intriguing me more and more to learn another alphabet, so that I can begin to understand the nuances of the ancient Hebrew language... keep up the good work, so that, as the LORD God provides, I may someday take the study course with you good folks."

Gregg Pellegrino ,USA.

"I would like to thank you for the news letters that are very clear and easy to understand.."

Miriam Duncan.

" I enjoy and value the Newsletters. Nice to read and learn new perspectives."

Ester Blomerus

"I appreciate your crystal clear exposition of the Bible through your newsletters. It gives me in-depth understanding of the word of God by the correlation you make of events in the Bible in each topic discussed. I make sure I create time out of my busy schedules to go through each newsletter recieved within 24 hrs. Keep it up and God in His infinite mercies will continue to bless you, grant your heart desires and crown your effort with joy unspeakable. Regards ".

ManaseAuta

"The the Newsletter does a lot for my faith as a Young Christian seeking to know the fullness of God and draw wisdom from his Word...."

PhelelaniDludla

" Thank you for your Newsletter and your teaching. It is much appreciated."

After my last visit to Israel I decided I wanted to learnmy hearts language, I searched on the internet and foundeTeacher. I signed up for the next available class and havenever looked back!! After a mere 16 weeks of class time,I am able to read and write in Hebrew.